Four-year deal for Elia

The transfer of Netherlands offensive specialist Eljero Elia is complete. The 25-year-old dissolved his contract with Juventus Turin and signed a four-year contract with Werder Bremen until 30 June 2016.

Werder manager Klaus Allofs confirmed the transfer. "We are happy that he now belongs to Werder Bremen. He is already participating in team training," said Allofs. Elia travelled to Bremen on Sunday to complete his medical check-up in the Bremen Reha Centre. On Monday Werder's new number 11 travelled on to the Green-Whites' training camp on Norderney where he could not yet train with the team because the final contract details between him and Juventus Turin had not yet been worked out. The Dutch international completed his lactate test Tuesday morning and trained for the first time in the morning.

The 26-time Dutch international, who was runner-up at the 2010 World Cup in South Africa and played his last international last October, is happy about the new chance in the Bundesliga. "I really know the league well, it's among the best in the world with full stadiums and a very strong competition at a high level. I would like to incorporate myself quickly and use my performance with Werder to make the national team again," said the newcomer.

Eljero George Rinaldo Elia, as the father of a 2-year-old daughter is called by his full name, began his career in the youth teams of Ajax Amsterdam and transferred from stops at ADO Den Haag and FC Twente Enschede to the Bundesliga where he played starting in 2009 for two years with Hamburg. He appeared in 52 Bundesliga matches scoring seven goals. Elia knows one of his Bremen teammates well as he played with Marko Arnautovic with FC Twente Enschede, where Elia in 2009 was named the best young player in the country. Elia did not have much success at his last stop Juventus Turin, where he played in just four league matches and one cup game.